The number of types of electronic devices that are commercially available has increased tremendously the past few years and the rate of introduction of new devices shows no signs of abating. Devices, such as tablet, laptop, netbook, desktop, and all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, and others, have become ubiquitous.
Power and data may be provided from one device to another over cables that may include one or more wire conductors, fiber optic cables, or other conductor. Connector inserts may be located at each end of these cables and may be inserted into connector receptacles in the communicating or power transferring devices. In other systems, contacts on the devices may come into direct contact with each other without the need for intervening cables.
In systems where contacts on two electronic devices come into contact with each other, the contacts may be located in a contact structure at a surface of an electronic device. It may be desirable that these contacts be substantially resistant to corrosion, otherwise such corrosion would be readily apparent to a user due to their surface location. Also, these contacts may often have a substantial depth and consume a relatively large volume of space in the electronic device. The loss of this space may mean that the electronic device is either larger, includes a reduced set of functionality, or both.
These electronic devices may be manufactured in large numbers. A corresponding number of contact structures may be manufactured for use in these devices. Any simplification in the manufacturing process of these contact structures may yield tremendous savings in the manufacturing of these electronic devices.
Thus, what is needed are contact structures that are readily manufactured, where contacts in the contact structures are resistant to corrosion and consume a minimal amount of surface area, depth, and volume in an electronic device.